Cognitively filtered and recipient-actualized vehicle horn activation

ABSTRACT

Approaches presented herein enable recipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honking. More specifically, an action of a first vehicle is monitored and a communication is obtained from a second vehicle. In response to the obtainment of the communication, it is determined whether the action of the first vehicle violates a rule. In the case that the action of the first vehicle violates a rule, responsive to the communication, a honk indication, perceptible to an occupant of the first vehicle, is actualized inside the first vehicle. In the case that the action of the first vehicle does not violate a rule, the communication from the second vehicle is rejected, and the honk indication is not actualized inside the first vehicle. A response can be transmitted to the second vehicle indicating if the honk indication was actualized inside the first vehicle.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

The present patent document is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/958,174, filed Apr. 20, 2018, entitled “COGNITIVELY FILTEREDAND RECIPIENT-ACTUALIZED VEHICLE HORN ACTIVATION”, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to filtering communications and,more specifically, to filtering a communication based on a cognitiveanalysis of physical events prior to the communication.

BACKGROUND

Most vehicles used for transportation of people are equipped with ahorn. While these horns can range from a bulb horn which makes noisewhen squeezed to a computerized system configured to play a noise, hornsare generally configured to make a “honk” sound when used. This sudden“honk” sound can be effective to draw the attention of pedestrians anddrivers of other vehicles, and can therefore be used to alertpedestrians and drivers of dangers and other situations requiring thedriver or pedestrian's attention. Under certain circumstances, however,such as traffic congestion, the horn can be used as an indicator offrustration, rather than as a means to instruct others to be alert. Whenseveral drivers use their horns at essentially the same time, theambient noise can become clamorous. Rather than causing people to bealert, the resulting horn symphony is merely a source of noisepollution.

SUMMARY

Approaches presented herein enable recipient-actualized internalvehicle-to-vehicle honking. More specifically, an action of a firstvehicle is monitored and a communication is obtained from a secondvehicle. In response to the obtainment of the communication, it isdetermined whether the action of the first vehicle violates a rule. Inthe case that the action of the first vehicle violates a rule,responsive to the communication, a honk indication, perceptible to anoccupant of the first vehicle, is actualized inside the first vehicle.In the case that the action of the first vehicle does not violate arule, the communication from the second vehicle is rejected, and thehonk indication is not actualized inside the first vehicle. A responsecan be transmitted to the second vehicle indicating if the honkindication was actualized inside the first vehicle.

One aspect of the present invention includes a method forrecipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honking, comprising:monitoring an action of a first vehicle; obtaining a communication froma second vehicle; determining, in response to the obtainment of thecommunication, whether the action of the first vehicle violates a rule;and actualizing, responsive to the communication, in the case that theaction of the first vehicle violates a rule, a honk indication insidethe first vehicle perceptible to an occupant of the first vehicle.

Another aspect of the present invention includes a computer system forrecipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honking, the computersystem comprising: a memory medium comprising program instructions; abus coupled to the memory medium; and a processor, for executing theprogram instructions, coupled to a recipient-actualized internalvehicle-to-vehicle honk engine via the bus that when executing theprogram instructions causes the system to: monitor an action of a firstvehicle; obtain a communication from a second vehicle; determine, inresponse to the obtainment of the communication, whether the action ofthe first vehicle violates a rule; and actualize, responsive to thecommunication, in the case that the action of the first vehicle violatesa rule, a honk indication inside the first vehicle perceptible to anoccupant of the first vehicle.

Yet another aspect of the present invention includes a computer programproduct for recipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honking,the computer program product comprising a computer readable hardwarestorage device, and program instructions stored on the computer readablehardware storage device, to: monitor an action of a first vehicle;obtain a communication from a second vehicle; determine, in response tothe obtainment of the communication, whether the action of the firstvehicle violates a rule; and actualize, responsive to the communication,in the case that the action of the first vehicle violates a rule, a honkindication inside the first vehicle perceptible to an occupant of thefirst vehicle.

Still yet, any of the components of the present invention could bedeployed, managed, serviced, etc., by a service provider who offers toimplement passive monitoring in a computer system.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide related systems,methods, and/or program products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this invention will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description of the variousaspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an architecture in which the invention may be implementedaccording to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a system diagram describing the functionality discussedherein according to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative example according to illustrativeembodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a system training flowchart according to illustrativeembodiments.

FIG. 5 shows a process flowchart for recipient-actualized internalvehicle-to-vehicle honking according to illustrative embodiments.

The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are merelyrepresentations, not intended to portray specific parameters of theinvention. The drawings are intended to depict only typical embodimentsof the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting inscope. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Illustrative embodiments will now be described more fully herein withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrativeembodiments are shown. It will be appreciated that this disclosure maybe embodied in many different forms and should not be construed aslimited to the illustrative embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the scope of this disclosure to thoseskilled in the art.

Furthermore, the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting of this disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”,“an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unlessthe context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, the use of theterms “a”, “an”, etc., do not denote a limitation of quantity, butrather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items.Furthermore, similar elements in different figures may be assignedsimilar element numbers. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising”, or “includes” and/or “including”, whenused in this specification, specify the presence of stated features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it may be appreciated that termssuch as “processing,” “detecting,” “determining,” “evaluating,”“receiving,” or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of acomputer or computing system, or similar electronic data center device,that manipulates and/or transforms data represented as physicalquantities (e.g., electronic) within the computing system's registersand/or memories into other data similarly represented as physicalquantities within the computing system's memories, registers or othersuch information storage, transmission or viewing devices. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

As stated above, embodiments described herein provide forrecipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honking. Morespecifically, an action of a first vehicle is monitored and acommunication is obtained from a second vehicle. In response to theobtainment of the communication, it is determined whether the action ofthe first vehicle violates a rule. In the case that the action of thefirst vehicle violates a rule, responsive to the communication, a honkindication, perceptible to an occupant of the first vehicle, isactualized inside the first vehicle. In the case that the action of thefirst vehicle does not violate a rule, the communication from the secondvehicle is rejected, and the honk indication is not actualized insidethe first vehicle. A response can be transmitted to the second vehicleindicating if the honk indication was actualized inside the firstvehicle.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a computerized implementation 10 of anembodiment for recipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honkingwill be shown and described. Computerized implementation 10 is only oneexample of a suitable implementation and is not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of theinvention described herein. Regardless, computerized implementation 10is capable of being implemented and/or performing any of thefunctionality set forth hereinabove.

In computerized implementation 10, there is a computer system/server 12,which is operational with numerous other general purpose or specialpurpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples ofwell-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations thatmay be suitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but arenot limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

This is intended to demonstrate, among other things, that the presentinvention could be implemented within a network environment (e.g., theInternet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), avirtual private network (VPN), etc.), a cloud computing environment, acellular network, or on a stand-alone computer system. Communicationthroughout the network can occur via any combination of various types ofcommunication links. For example, the communication links can compriseaddressable connections that may utilize any combination of wired and/orwireless transmission methods. Where communications occur via theInternet, connectivity could be provided by conventional TCP/IPsockets-based protocol, and an Internet service provider could be usedto establish connectivity to the Internet. Still yet, computersystem/server 12 is intended to demonstrate that some or all of thecomponents of implementation 10 could be deployed, managed, serviced,etc., by a service provider who offers to implement, deploy, and/orperform the functions of the present invention for others.

Computer system/server 12 is intended to represent any type of computersystem that may be implemented in deploying/realizing the teachingsrecited herein. Computer system/server 12 may be described in thegeneral context of computer system/server executable instructions, suchas program modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally,program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components,logic, data structures, and so on, that perform particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types. In this particular example,computer system/server 12 represents an illustrative system forrecipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honking. It should beunderstood that any other computers implemented under the presentinvention may have different components/software, but can performsimilar functions.

Computer system/server 12 in computerized implementation 10 is shown inthe form of a general-purpose computing device. The components ofcomputer system/server 12 may include, but are not limited to, one ormore processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28, and a bus 18that couples various system components including system memory 28 toprocessing unit 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Processing unit 16 refers, generally, to any apparatus that performslogic operations, computational tasks, control functions, etc. Aprocessor may include one or more subsystems, components, and/or otherprocessors. A processor will typically include various logic componentsthat operate using a clock signal to latch data, advance logic states,synchronize computations and logic operations, and/or provide othertiming functions. During operation, processing unit 16 collects androutes signals representing inputs and outputs between external devices14 and input devices (not shown). The signals can be transmitted over aLAN and/or a WAN (e.g., T1, T3, 56 kb, X.25), broadband connections(ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM), wireless links (802.11, Bluetooth, etc.), andso on. In some embodiments, the signals may be encrypted using, forexample, trusted key-pair encryption. Different systems may transmitinformation using different communication pathways, such as Ethernet orwireless networks, direct serial or parallel connections, USB,Firewire®, Bluetooth®, or other proprietary interfaces. (Firewire is aregistered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Bluetooth is a registeredtrademark of Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)).

In general, processing unit 16 executes computer program code, such asprogram code for recipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehiclehonking, which is stored in memory 28, storage system 34, and/orprogram/utility 40. While executing computer program code, processingunit 16 can read and/or write data to/from memory 28, storage system 34,and program/utility 40.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia, (e.g., VCRs, DVRs, RAID arrays, USB hard drives, optical diskrecorders, flash storage devices, and/or any other data processing andstorage elements for storing and/or processing data). By way of exampleonly, storage system 34 can be provided for reading from and writing toa non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and typicallycalled a “hard drive”). Although not shown, a magnetic disk drive forreading from and writing to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk(e.g., a “floppy disk”), and/or an optical disk drive for reading fromor writing to a removable, non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM,DVD-ROM, or other optical media can be provided. In such instances, eachcan be connected to bus 18 by one or more data media interfaces. As willbe further depicted and described below, memory 28 may include at leastone program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modulesthat are configured to carry out the functions of embodiments of theinvention.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium including, but not limited to, wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, radio-frequency (RF), etc., or anysuitable combination of the foregoing.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation. Memory28 may also have an operating system, one or more application programs,other program modules, and program data. Each of the operating system,one or more application programs, other program modules, and programdata or some combination thereof, may include an implementation of anetworking environment. Program modules 42 generally carry out thefunctions and/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention asdescribed herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a consumer to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via I/O interfaces22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 can communicate with one ormore networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide areanetwork (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via networkadapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20 communicates with the othercomponents of computer system/server 12 via bus 18. It should beunderstood that although not shown, other hardware and/or softwarecomponents could be used in conjunction with computer system/server 12.Examples include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers,redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems,tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

The inventors of the present invention have found that, although theintended purpose of providing a horn on a vehicle is to alert otherdrivers and/or pedestrians that they are not paying sufficient attentionto the road or are about to create a hazard for the honking driver,people often misuse the horn, honking, for example, if they are angry atanother driver, to announce a lane change, when entering anintersection, to encourage another driver to go faster, etc. The resultcan be an almost continuous honking on roadways, such that honkingbecomes a meaningless source of background noise pollution. An intendedrecipient of a honk may not even realize a honk was intended for him,while another driver may mistakenly think the honk was intended for her,causing chaos and confusion on the roads, sometimes leading tocollisions and other traffic accidents. Furthermore, the noise pollutionproduced by so many misused horns can have an adverse effect on humanhealth and behavior, such as damage to psychological health,hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleepdisturbances, etc.

Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention have developed amethod and system that limits noise pollution from misused honking,while continuing to alert the other drivers when appropriate to avoidcollisions and other traffic accidents. Embodiments of the presentinvention offer a honk communication transmitted from a first vehicle toa second vehicle, with the honk then sounding within the second vehicle.This honk communication is filtered based on behavior of the secondvehicle. If the second vehicle has made an error that would warrant ahonk, then the honk is sounded within the second vehicle. If however,the second vehicle has made no error, then the honk communication isblocked and no honk sounds within the second vehicle.

The recipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honking ofembodiments of the present invention offers several advantages over atraditional honk that is sounded publically and indiscriminately. Forinstance, embodiments of the present invention allow an intendedrecipient to be notified of a danger or driver error, while notbothering bystanders with the sound of a honk. Furthermore, honks fromdrivers who are misusing the horn, such as to express frustration oranger at a lawfully operating vehicle, can be filtered out, and,therefore, are not bothersome to the driver of the lawfully operatingvehicle or other bystanders. The recipient-actualized internalvehicle-to-vehicle honking of embodiments of the present invention alsooffers advantages over computerized systems that directly tell a vehicleoperator when he or she has made an error. A vehicle operator can becomedesensitized to the warnings of computer. However, a honk from a humanoperator/occupant of another vehicle on the road is significantly moredifficult to ignore, particularly if the vehicle operator hasconfirmation that the honk is directed at him or herself.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a system diagram describing the functionalitydiscussed herein according to an embodiment of the present invention isshown. It is understood that the teachings recited herein may bepracticed within any type of computing environment, including, but notlimited to, a networked computing environment (e.g., a cloud computingenvironment). A stand-alone computer system/server 12 is shown in FIG. 2for illustrative purposes only. In the event the teachings recitedherein are practiced in a networked computing environment, each clientneed not have a recipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honkengine 200 (hereinafter “system 200”). Rather, all or part of system 200could be loaded on a server or server-capable device that communicates(e.g., wirelessly) with the clients to provide for recipient-actualizedinternal vehicle-to-vehicle honking. Regardless, as depicted, system 200is shown within computer system/server 12. In general, system 200 can beimplemented as program/utility 40 on computer system 12 of FIG. 1 andcan enable the functions recited herein.

Along these lines, system 200 may perform multiple functions similar toa general-purpose computer. Specifically, among other functions, system200 can filter a honk communication based on a cognitive analysis ofphysical events prior to the communication in a networked computingenvironment. To accomplish this, system 200 can include a set ofcomponents (e.g., program modules 42 of FIG. 1) for carrying outembodiments of the present invention. These components can include, butare not limited to, vehicle monitor 202, communications obtainer 206,analyzer 208, and honk indicator 210. In some embodiments, but not all,system 200 can also include honk command processor 204. In some otherembodiments, honk command processor 204 can reside on a separatecomputer system/server than computer system/server 12 on which system200 resides. In still other embodiments, some instances of system 200can include honk command processor 204, while others do not.

In some embodiments, all or portions of system 200 can reside on acomputer system of vehicle 220. In some other embodiments, all orportions of system 200 can reside on a portable computer system (e.g., asmart phone or other personal/mobile device) that is a separate computersystem than the computer system of vehicle 220. In still otherembodiments, all or portions of system 200 can reside on a remotecomputer system, such as a remote server or virtual machine existing ina cloud computing environment.

Regardless, system 200 can receive sensor data 222 from sensor array224. Sensors of sensor array 224 can be configured to take variousreadings associated with first vehicle 220, such as speed, location,physical surroundings, etc. System 200 can also receive or otherwiseobtain honk communication 232 from second vehicle 230. To analyze honkcommunication 232, system 200 can reference rules stored in ruledepository 240. In some embodiments, rule depository 240 can be acomponent of storage system 34 of computer system/server 12. In someother embodiments, rule depository 240 can be a separate storage areafrom computer system/server 12 and can, in some embodiments, be a cloudstorage area in a cloud computing environment. If the analysis validateshonk communication 232, then system 200 can cause a sound system orother sensory system of first vehicle 220 to actualize honk 250.

Referring now to FIG. 3 in connection with FIG. 2, an illustrativeexample 300 of embodiments of the present invention with reference tosystem 200 will be discussed. Vehicle monitor 202 of system 200, asperformed by computer system/server 12, can monitor an action of firstvehicle 220 (e.g., vehicle 360 and vehicle 366). In some embodiments,first vehicle 220 can be one of a plurality of vehicles being monitored.This monitoring can be achieved through one or more sensors in sensorarray 224 on, in, and/or around first vehicle 220. Such sensors mayinclude, but are not limited to, a camera, a proximity sensor, aspeedometer, an accelerometer, a compass, a location sensor (e.g., basedon a Global Positioning System (GPS)), etc. Additionally, or in thealternative, such sensors 224 may include internal, driver/occupantmonitoring sensors, such as, but not limited to, a camera (e.g., foridentifying objects or actions which may distract a driver whiledriving, such as use of a mobile device, or an eye-line of the drivernot being directed at the road) or a biometric sensor (e.g., formonitoring heart rate, breathing, etc.). A camera of sensor array 224can be configured with object recognition software or otherwise haveaccess to an object recognition system for recognizing and identifyingobjects in and around first vehicle 220. Additionally, or in thealternative, vehicle monitor 202 of can detect settings or engagementsof controls within first vehicle 360, such as whether the high beams ofvehicle 360 are turned on or whether vehicle 360 is in drive or reverse.In some embodiments, sensor array 224 can additionally or in thealternative include sensors that are not directly on, in, or aroundfirst vehicle 220, such as traffic cameras and other sensors monitoringa road/traffic environment.

Additionally, in some embodiments, vehicle monitor 202 can retrieveinformation about environmental conditions around first vehicle 220. Forexample, based on a location detected by a location sensor of sensorarray 224, vehicle monitor 202 can retrieve current weather or roadcondition data about the detected location from an Internet-accessibleweather/road condition information source. In another example, based ona location detected by a location sensor of sensor array 224, vehiclemonitor 202 can retrieve road rules (e.g., a speed limit) associatedwith the detected location from an Internet-accessible rule informationsource, such as, but not limited to, rule depository 240.

In some embodiments, vehicle monitor 202 can be configured to create alog of sensor data 222 generated by sensor array 224. In someembodiments, this log can be temporary. For instance, vehicle monitor202 can be configured to store the previous minute of sensor data 222before discarding expired sensor data 222, although this need not be thecase. Additionally, in some embodiments, vehicle monitor 202 can logprevailing conditions around first vehicle 220 for an appropriate timeperiod (e.g., update weather information every five minutes).

Turning to illustrative example 300 in FIG. 3, vehicle monitor 202 logsthe location, speed, and direction of vehicle 360, as well as theproximity of vehicles 362 and 364 relative to vehicle 360 through sensorarray 224 attached to vehicle 360. Vehicle monitor 202 associated withvehicle 360 detects that the right turn signal of vehicle 360 has beenengaged, the heading of vehicle 360 has been altered to maneuver intothe right-hand lane of west-bound road 370, and that vehicle 362 iscurrently in the space into which vehicle 360 is attempting to maneuver.Vehicle monitor 202 further learns, from a camera of sensor array 224 orfrom a road rules database, that the left-hand lane of west-bound road370 is a left-hand turn only lane. At about the same time, vehiclemonitor 202 logs the location, speed, and direction of vehicle 366, aswell as the proximity of vehicle 368 behind vehicle 366 through sensorarray 224 attached to vehicle 366. Vehicle monitor 202 associated withvehicle 366 detects that vehicle 366 is going the speed limit for road370 and that vehicle 368 is less than two car lengths behind vehicle366.

Honk command processor 204 can receive, process, and transmit anauditory command in a natural language identifying first vehicle 220 byan occupant of second vehicle 230. Honk command processor 204 can beconfigured to receive an auditory/voice command from a driver/occupantof second vehicle 230 to honk at vehicle 220. In some embodiments, thiscommand identifies first vehicle 220 as the vehicle at which thedriver/occupant of second vehicle 230 wants to honk. This identificationcan be in a natural language and can reference, for example, but notlimited to, a plate of first vehicle 220, a color of the first vehicle220, a make and/or model of first vehicle 220, a location of firstvehicle 220 (e.g., front, back, left, right), etc. With reference to theillustrative example 300 in FIG. 3, an example of such an auditory/voicecommand from the driver/occupant of vehicle 362 directed to vehicle 360may be: “Honk ABC-1234,” “Honk ABC,” “Honk 1234,” “Honk black car,”“Honk left,” etc. Similarly, an example of such an auditory/voicecommand from the driver/occupant of vehicle 368 directed to vehicle 366may be: “Honk XYZ-5678,” “Honk XYZ,” “Honk 5678,” “Honk front,” etc.Command processor 204 can parse the voice command to discoverinformation identifying first vehicle 220 as the vehicle at which thehonk is intended.

Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the identificationof first vehicle 220 as the vehicle the driver/occupant of secondvehicle 230 wants to honk at can be non-auditory. For example, in someembodiments, honk command processor 204 can be configured to detect thatdriver/occupant of second vehicle 230 has pressed a honk button (e.g., asteering wheel horn) and to determine from sensors in, on, or aroundsecond vehicle 230 which vehicle of a plurality of vehicles aroundsecond vehicle 230 the honk is intended for, using the same ruleviolation analysis techniques discussed below with respect to analyzer208. In other words, in some embodiments, honk command processor 204 canbe configured to monitor the activity of a plurality of vehicles aroundsecond vehicle 230 and identify first vehicle 220 based on a monitoredviolation of a rule by first vehicle 220. In still other embodiments,honk command processor 204 can be configured to detect/track eyemovement of the driver/occupant of second vehicle 230 (e.g., using acamera) and to identify first vehicle 220 for which the honk is intendedbased on what vehicle the eyes of driver/occupant of second vehicle 230were looking at when the driver/occupant of second vehicle 230 gave anauditory honk command or pressed a honk command button.

Based on the auditory or detected identifying information, honk commandprocessor 204 can identify first vehicle 220. This identification canuse any technique presently known or later developed. For instance, inembodiments where second vehicle 230 has a camera, honk commandprocessor 204 can identify first vehicle 220 from an image of firstvehicle 220 taken by that camera. In other embodiments, first vehicle220 can be broadcasting identifying information about first vehicle 220(e.g., color, make, model, plate), such that honk command processor 204can match the parsed identifying information from the auditory/voicecommand to the identifying information broadcast by first vehicle 220.In still other embodiments where system 200 is centralized, honk commandprocessor 204 can cross-reference the parsed identifying informationwith other monitored vehicles in the immediate vicinity of secondvehicle 230. In any case, honk command processor 204 can identify firstvehicle 220 in some embodiments in which the auditory/voice command fromthe driver/occupant of second vehicle 230 contains informationidentifying first vehicle 220.

In some embodiments, a honk command does not identify any vehicle as thevehicle at which the driver/occupant of second vehicle 230 wants tohonk. For instance, the driver/occupant of second vehicle 230 may onlysay “Honk” or may signal the desire to honk nonverbally, such as bypressing a horn button in second vehicle 230. With reference to theillustrative example 300 in FIG. 3, an example of such an auditory/voicecommand from vehicle 362 that does not identify another vehicle may be:“Honk.” Honk command processor 204 can parse this voice command todetermine that the driver/occupant of vehicle 362 wants to honk at anunspecified someone.

Honk command processor 204 publishes the honk command as communication232. In some embodiments, in cases where honk command processor 204 hasidentified first vehicle 220 as the vehicle at which the driver/occupantof second vehicle 230 wants to honk, communication 232 can include thisidentifying information as metadata accompanying communication 232.Additionally or in the alternative, honk command processor 204 cancommunicate communication 232 to first vehicle 220 using amachine-to-machine (M2M) protocol. In some other embodiments, in caseswhere honk command processor 204 has not identified first vehicle 220 asthe vehicle at which the driver/occupant of second vehicle 230 wants tohonk, honk command processor 204 can publish communication 232 as ageneric honk communication directed to any and all vehicles in theimmediate vicinity of second vehicle 230. In some embodiments, honkcommand processor 204 can include metadata identifying second vehicle230 and/or a location of vehicle 230 (e.g., relative to first vehicle220) in the published communication 232.

With reference to the illustrative example 300 in FIG. 3, after thedriver of vehicle 362 says, “Honk ABC,” honk command processor 204 candetermine that this command references vehicle 360 and publish honkcommunication 372 with instructions to honk and metadata identifyingvehicle 360. Similarly, after the driver of vehicle 368 says, “Honkfront,” honk command processor 204 can determine that this commandreferences vehicle 366 and communicate communication 378 to vehicle 366with instructions to honk.

It should be understood that, although embodiments of the presentinvention enable a point-and-honk property between two vehicles, secondvehicle 230 can still be equipped with a traditional horn that producesa sound heard by everyone in the immediate vicinity of vehicle 230. Atraditional horn can be used when alerting entities that are notequipped to perform a recipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehiclehonk according to embodiments of the present invention, such aspedestrians, cyclists, and animals.

Communications obtainer 206 of system 200, as performed by computersystem/server 12, can obtain communication 232 from second vehicle 230.In some embodiments, communications obtainer 206 can receivecommunication 232 as a transmission via a M2M protocol from secondvehicle 230 (or a computer system associated with second vehicle 230).In such embodiments, communications obtainer 206 can obtaincommunication 232 through an exclusive M2M protocol for on-point honkingbetween second vehicle 230 and first vehicle 220 (or between twocomputer systems, each associated with one of the vehicles).Communications obtainer 206 can be a dedicated port of system 200configured to “listen” for honk communications 232 from other vehicles.In some embodiments, communications obtainer 206 can be configured to“listen” specifically for honk communications 232 having identifyinginformation attached to communication 232 as metadata that matches anidentity of first vehicle 220. In this embodiment, communicationsobtainer 206 can be configured to disregard any communication 232 thatidentifies a vehicle other than first vehicle 220 as the intendedvehicle. Additionally or alternatively, communications obtainer 206 canbe configured to obtain a general honk communications 232 that does notcontain any vehicle identifying information, after which system 200 cantreat this general honk communications 232 as though intended forvehicle 220, testing, as described below, whether vehicle 220 hasviolated a rule to warrant being honked at.

With reference to the illustrative example 300 in FIG. 3, communicationsobtainer 206 of system 200 associated with vehicle 360 receives honkcommunication 372, as published by honk command processor 204. This isenabled because honk communication 372 contains metadata identifyingvehicle 360 that communications obtainer 206 can use to determine thathonk communication 372 is intended for vehicle 360. Likewise,communications obtainer 206 of system 200 associated with vehicle 366receives honk communication 378, as published by honk command processor204. Although this is enabled because honk communication 378 containsmetadata identifying vehicle 366 as the intended recipient of honkcommunication 378, communications obtainer 206 could also obtain honkcommunication 378 if honk communication 378 were directed generally toany vehicle in proximity to vehicle 368.

Analyzer 208 of system 200, as performed by computer system/server 12,can determine, in response to the obtainment of communication 232,whether the action of first vehicle 220 violates a rule. Althoughanalyzer 208 will be discussed here as performing this determination inresponse to communications obtainer 206 receiving communication 232, itshould be understood that in some embodiments of the present invention,analyzer 208 determines, based only on the monitoring of an action offirst vehicle 220 by vehicle monitor 202 and the collection ofinformation regarding circumstances around first vehicle 220, whetherthe action of first vehicle 220 violates a rule.

Analyzer 208 is configured to cognitively analyze sensor data 222 and/orthe retrieved information about environmental conditions (e.g., weather,temporary road conditions such as construction, detours, stoppedvehicles, etc.) around first vehicle 220 as a set of parametersdescribing the actions of, around, and within first vehicle 220. Theseparameters are compared to a set of rules (e.g., from rule depository240) the violation of which constitutes an unsafe action whendriving/operating a vehicle. In some embodiments, these rules can be aset of conditions and a set of actions or inactions that, under theconditions, are safe or unsafe for a vehicle or an operator of a vehicleto perform while driving. In still further embodiments, these rules canbe a set of binary questions, a yes or no answer constituting an actionor inaction that, under the conditions, is safe or unsafe for a vehicleor an operator of a vehicle to perform while driving.

Analyzer 208 can further generate a hypothesis as to why the operator ofsecond vehicle 230 honked at first vehicle 220. This hypothesis can bebased on which of the rules, if any, the actions of first vehicle 220have violated. In some embodiments, this hypothesis is a statement ofthe violated rule. Additionally or in the alternative, the hypothesiscan contain an instruction/advice on what first vehicle 220 or thedriver of the same should do to avoid continuing to violate this rule orto avoid violating this rule in the future.

It will be understood that analyzer 208 can apply many different rulesto the driving parameters of first vehicle 220. These rules can, forexample, regard traffic laws, driving customs, and other rules dictatinghow a vehicle should be driven/operated. As this allows for a vastnumber of rules, they will not be iterated here. However, the followingare some examples of the types of rule inquiries analyzer 208 canperform when comparing the parameters of the vehicle's actions againstthe set of rules.

a) Is the vehicle moving as per expected lane rules? Is the vehicle inthe correct traffic lane?

b) Is the vehicle deviating from expected driving patterns? Is thevehicle breaking, slowing down, or going slow if the road ahead isempty?

c) Is the driver of the vehicle distracted? Is the driver using ahandheld device, a smart device, a mobile phone, etc.?

d) Is the speed of the vehicle above/below the speed limit beyond apre-defined tolerance?

e) Is the vehicle failing to give way for vehicles behind the vehicle topass if there is room to overtake?

f) Is the vehicle's driving pattern as expected as per currentexternal/environmental conditions?

G) Is the vehicle failing to stop, yield, etc., at traffic signs,signals, rotaries, etc.?

Referring now to FIG. 4 in connection with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, accordingto some embodiments of the present invention, analyzer 208 can betrained to apply driving rules to the actions of first vehicle 220, asshown in training flow diagram 400. During training phase 402, analyzer208 can be trained to recognize training feature vector 414. Thistraining feature vector 414 can describe actions and circumstancessurrounding first vehicle 220. Analyzer 208 can be trained to associatetraining feature vector 414 with hypothesis 428. This means thatanalyzer 208 can learn to associate particular actions and circumstancessurrounding first vehicle 220 with a likely reason a driver/occupant ofsecond vehicle 230 would be honking at first vehicle 220. Trainingfeature vector 414 can include parameters from external sources 404,such as external events, weather, and road attributes 406. Additionallyor in the alternative, training feature vector 414 can includeparameters describing driving patterns, rules, and/or behaviors 408expected of a vehicle/driver. As discussed above, these can be retrievedfrom rule depository 240 or another external source. Additionally or inthe alternative, training feature vector 414 can include parameters fromon-board diagnostics (OBD) 410, such as sensor data 222, including dataindicative of physiological factors, behavior, and driver reaction 412.Analyzer 208 can learn to recognize these parameters as part of machinelearning supervised model 416 and, then, learn to associate a particularset of parameters with a particular reason-for-honking hypothesis 428.

Still referring to FIG. 4, during runtime/prediction phase 420, analyzer208 can refer back to the associations developed during training phase402 to best associate runtime feature vector 426, describing currentvehicle and/or driver actions 424 of a driver/occupant 422 of firstvehicle 220, with a particular reason-for-honking hypothesis 428. In thecase that a particular reason-for-honking hypothesis 428 is found, honk250 can be accompanied by message 430 informing driver/occupant 422 offirst vehicle 220 of the likely reason the driver/occupant of secondvehicle 230 honked at first vehicle 220.

Referring again to the illustrative example provided in FIG. 3, analyzer208 reviews sensor data 222 collected by vehicle monitor 202, namelythat the right turn signal of vehicle 360 has been engaged, the headingof vehicle 360 has been altered to maneuver into the right-hand lane ofwest-bound road 370, and vehicle 362 is currently in the space intowhich vehicle 360 is attempting to maneuver. From these parameters,analyzer 208 determines that the right rear side of vehicle 360 is aboutto come into contact with the left front fender of vehicle 362 ifvehicle 360 continues on its current course. Analyzer 208 alsodetermines that the speed of vehicle 360 currently exceeds the postedspeed limit by 5 mph. Therefore, analyzer 208 determines that honk 372from vehicle 362 is valid. Furthermore, although both of these actionsof vehicle 360 violate driving rules retrieved from rule depository 240,analyzer 208 cognitively determines that the most likely reason theoccupant/driver of vehicle 362 honked at vehicle 360 is because of theprospect of a collision between vehicle 362 and vehicle 360. Therefore,this reason will be provided to the occupant/driver of vehicle 360.

By contrast, still referring to the illustrative example provided inFIG. 3, analyzer 208 reviews sensor data 222 collected by vehiclemonitor 202, namely that vehicle 366 is going the speed limit for road370 and that vehicle 368 is less than two car lengths behind vehicle366. From these parameters, analyzer 208 determines that no action ofvehicle 366 has violated any rule. Therefore, analyzer 208 determinesthat honk 378 from vehicle 368 is invalid.

Referring again primarily to FIG. 2, honk indicator 210 of system 200,as performed by computer system/server 12, can actualize, responsive tocommunication 232, in the case that the action of first vehicle 220violates a rule, honk indication 250 (e.g., honk 374) inside firstvehicle 220 perceptible to an occupant of first vehicle 220. In the casethat the action of first vehicle 220 does not violate a rule, honkindicator 210 does not actualize honk indication 250 inside firstvehicle 220. This honk indication 250 is not heard by any other vehiclein the vicinity of first vehicle 220 and second vehicle 230. In someembodiments, honk indicator 210 can use a dedicated port of computersystem/server 12 to actualize honk indication 250.

It will be appreciated that honk indication 250 can be performed anynumber of ways. In some embodiments, honk indication 250 can be a“honking” sound played by any audio output device associated withvehicle 220. For instance, in some embodiments, this audio output devicecan be a sound system of first vehicle 220. In some other embodiments,this audio output device can be a sound system of a mobile deviceassociated with first vehicle 220 (e.g., when a driver's mobile deviceis computer system/server 12). Additionally, or in the alternative, honkindication 250 can be a visual alert shown on a display of vehicle 220or any device associated with vehicle 220. For example, in someembodiments, this visual alert can be a flashing light or a particularlycolored light (e.g., red, yellow) on a dashboard or windshield of firstvehicle 220. Additionally, or in the alternative, honk indication 250can be a form of haptic feedback by an object in contact with thedriver/occupant of first vehicle 220. For example, in some embodiments,honk indicator 210 can cause a steering wheel, gear shift, or seat tovibrate or perform another motion.

In some embodiments of the present invention, honk indicator 210 alsoprovides a direction indication of second vehicle 230 relative to firstvehicle 220. This direction indication allows a driver/occupant of firstvehicle 220 to know from where the honk came and, therefore, the likelydirection of a hazard about which the honk is intended to warn thedriver/occupant. It will be appreciated that this direction indicationcan be performed any number of ways. In some embodiments, honk indicator210 can use a surround sound system of first vehicle 220 (in the casethat first vehicle 220 has a surround sound system) to play honkindication 250 from a speaker closest in the direction of second vehicle230. In some further embodiments, honk indication 250 can vary theleft/right and/or front/rear volume of each of the speakers in thesurround sound system of first vehicle 220 to provide the directionindication. For instance, if second vehicle 230 is behind first vehicle220, then honk indicator 210 plays, or causes to be played, honkindication 250 from speakers at the back of the cab compartment of firstvehicle 220 or, if second vehicle 230 is to the right of first vehicle220, then honk indicator 210 plays, or causes to be played, honkindication 250 from speakers on the right side of the cab compartment offirst vehicle 220. Additionally or in the alternative, honk indicator210 can visually indicate a direction of honk indication 250. Thisvisual direction indication can be, for example, a lighted arrowdisplayed on a dashboard of first vehicle 220. Additionally or in thealternative, honk indicator 210 can haptically indicate a direction ofhonk indication 250. This haptic direction indication can be, forexample, a portion of a driver's seat or steering wheel nearest tosecond vehicle 230 vibrating or otherwise moving.

In some embodiments of the present invention, honk indicator 210 alsoprovides an importance, priority, or urgency of the honk through honkindication 250. For example, honk indicator 210 can produce, for a moreurgent matter (e.g., an imminent collision), a louder, more abruptsounding honk indication 250. By contrast, honk indicator 210 canproduce, for a less urgent matter (e.g., a vehicle traveling above thespeed limit), a quieter, softer sounding honk indication 250.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, honk indicator 210 can provide thedriver/occupant of first vehicle 220 with a message includingreason-for-honking hypothesis 428. Reason-for-honking hypothesis 428 canbe displayed to driver/occupant of first vehicle 220 on a dashboard offirst vehicle 220. Additionally or alternatively, reason-for-honkinghypothesis 428 can be delivered to driver/occupant of first vehicle 220as audio (e.g., “Warning, unsafe lane change”) played through an audiooutput device of first vehicle 220). In any case, in some embodiments,honk indicator 210 can be configured to disclose the most likely reasonfirst vehicle 220 was honked at in addition to delivering the honkitself.

In some embodiments, honk indicator 210 or analyzer 208 can transmit orcause to be transmitted a return communication to second vehicle 230.This return communication can acknowledge delivery of honk communication232. Alternatively or additionally, this return communication canindicate whether analyzer 208 found the honk to be valid or invalid. Insome embodiments, a computer system of second vehicle 230 can beconfigured to visually (e.g., with red/green lights on a dashboard ofsecond vehicle 230) or aurally (e.g., with a soft return honk) indicatethat honk communication 232 was received and/or honk indication 250 wasdelivered to the driver/occupant of first vehicle 220.

Referring again to the illustrative example provided in FIG. 3, becauseanalyzer 208 determined that honk 372 sent from vehicle 362 to vehicle360 is valid, honk indicator 210 plays honk sound effect 374 over therear right speaker system inside the cabin of vehicle 360. Additionally,honk indicator 210 displays “unsafe lane change” on the dashboard ofvehicle 360. The driver of vehicle 362 sees a green light on hisdashboard indicating that a honk was presented to the driver/occupant ofvehicle 360. The occupants of vehicles 364, 366, and 368 do not hear anyhonking noise 374 and remain unaware that honk 372 took place.

In contrast, because analyzer 208 determined that honk 378 sent fromvehicle 368 to vehicle 366 is invalid, honk indicator 210 does not playany honk sound effect within the cabin of vehicle 366. The driver ofvehicle 368 sees a red light on his dashboard indicating that he wasincorrect sending honk 378 to the driver/occupant of vehicle 366. Theoccupants of vehicles 360, 362, 364, and 366 remain unaware that honk378 took place. Neither correct honk 372 nor erroneous honk 378 createsany noise pollution. Furthermore, the driver/occupant of vehicle 366 isnot bothered by the sound of an undeserved honk.

In some further embodiments of the present invention, system 200 canalso be configured to alert one or more first vehicles 220 of an actionabout to be taken by second vehicle 230. In these embodiments, honkcommand processor 204 can be configured to receive an auditory/voicecommand from a driver/occupant of second vehicle 230 to send out analert announcement to one or more first vehicles 220 around or otherwisein proximity to second vehicle 230. In some of these embodiments, thiscommand identifies the action second vehicle 230 will be taking or thereason the driver/occupant of vehicle 230 will be taking that action(e.g., “I'm breaking,” “There's an animal in the road,” or “I'm breakingbecause there's an animal in the road”). In some other of theseembodiments, this command can be a more generalized instruction to sendout an alert announcement to one or more first vehicles 220 around orotherwise in proximity to second vehicle 230 (e.g., “Honk all” or“Broadcast all”). Data from vehicle monitor 202 can be used to identifyor confirm the reason for the action of vehicle 230 (e.g., detection ofa pothole or animal in the path of vehicle 230). Honk command processor204 can publish the alert announcement command as a communication and/orcommunicate the communication to the one or more first vehicles 220 inproximity to second vehicle 230 using a machine to machine (M2M)protocol. In these embodiments, this communication can contain metadataidentifying the communication as containing an alert announcementgenerally directed to all vehicles in a particular area (i.e., inproximity to second vehicle 230). This communication can further containthe action second vehicle 230 will be taking or the reason thedriver/occupant of vehicle 230 will be taking that action.

In these embodiments, as discussed above, communications obtainer 206can obtain the communication from second vehicle 230 (e.g., as atransmission via a M2M protocol from second vehicle 230) and, based onthe metadata contained therein, identify the communication as an alertannouncement intended for first vehicle 220, among other vehicles. Inthe case where communications obtainer 206 identifies the communicationas a general alert announcement, analyzer 208 does not analyze thegeneral alert announcement communication and does not determine, basedon the monitoring of an action of first vehicle 220 by vehicle monitor202, whether the action of first vehicle 220 violates a rule.

The general alert announcement communication is routed directly to honkindicator 210 from communications obtainer 206. Honk indicator 210actualizes, responsive to the general alert announcement communication,an announcement alert indication inside first vehicle 220 perceptible toan occupant of first vehicle 220. This announcement alert indication canbe an auditory honk, a specialized auditory honk (e.g., a differenttone, pitch, or volume than a regular honk), or any other honkindication (e.g., visual or haptic) discussed above. Alternatively oradditionally, the announcement alert indication actualized by honkindicator 210 can be a message (e.g., displayed to driver/occupant offirst vehicle 220 on a dashboard of first vehicle 220 or delivered todriver/occupant of first vehicle 220 as audio played through an audiooutput device of first vehicle 220). This message can be or referencethe action second vehicle 230 will be taking or the reason thedriver/occupant of vehicle 230 will be taking that action transmitted inthe general alert announcement communication.

Referring again to the illustrative example provided in FIG. 3,according to some embodiments of the present invention, the driver ofvehicle 366 sees a pothole in front of vehicle 366 and says, “Broadcast,there's a pothole in front of me.” Honk command processor 204 transmitsa message to nearby vehicle 368 that vehicle 366 will be taking sometype of evasive action because there is a pothole in the road in frontof vehicle 230. Communications obtainer 206 receives this message,recognizes it as a general alert announcement, and passes the message tohonk indicator 210. Honk indicator 210 then toots a warning honk insidevehicle 368 and delivers audio over the audio system of vehicle 368 thattells the driver/occupant of vehicle 368 to expect vehicle 366 to takean action to avoid a pothole.

As depicted in FIG. 5, in one embodiment, a system (e.g., computersystem/server 12) carries out the methodologies disclosed herein. Shownis a process flowchart 500 for recipient-actualized internalvehicle-to-vehicle honking. At 502, vehicle monitor 202 monitors anaction of a first vehicle 220. At 504, communications obtainer 206obtains a communication 232 from a second vehicle 230. At 506, analyzer208 determines, in response to the obtainment of the communication bycommunications obtainer 206, whether the action of the first vehicle 220violates a rule. At 508, honk indicator 210 actualizes, responsive tothe communication 232, in the case that the action of the first vehicle220 violates a rule, a honk indication 250 inside the first vehicle 220perceptible to an occupant of the first vehicle 220.

Process flowchart 500 of FIG. 5 illustrates the architecture,functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems,methods, and computer program products according to various embodimentsof the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart orblock diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion ofinstructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Some of the functional components described in this specification havebeen labeled as systems or units in order to more particularly emphasizetheir implementation independence. For example, a system or unit may beimplemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits orgate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips,transistors, or other discrete components. A system or unit may also beimplemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmablegate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, orthe like. A system or unit may also be implemented in software forexecution by various types of processors. A system or unit or componentof executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical orlogical blocks of computer instructions, which may, for instance, beorganized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, theexecutables of an identified system or unit need not be physicallylocated together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored indifferent locations which, when joined logically together, comprise thesystem or unit and achieve the stated purpose for the system or unit.

Further, a system or unit of executable code could be a singleinstruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed overseveral different code segments, among different programs, and acrossseveral memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identifiedand illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in anysuitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure.The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may bedistributed over different locations including over different storagedevices and disparate memory devices.

Furthermore, systems/units may also be implemented as a combination ofsoftware and one or more hardware devices. For instance, program/utility40 may be embodied in the combination of a software executable codestored on a memory medium (e.g., memory storage device). In a furtherexample, a system or unit may be the combination of a processor thatoperates on a set of operational data.

As noted above, some of the embodiments may be embodied in hardware. Thehardware may be referenced as a hardware element. In general, a hardwareelement may refer to any hardware structures arranged to perform certainoperations. In one embodiment, for example, the hardware elements mayinclude any analog or digital electrical or electronic elementsfabricated on a substrate. The fabrication may be performed usingsilicon-based integrated circuit (IC) techniques, such as complementarymetal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), bipolar, and bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS)techniques, for example. Examples of hardware elements may includeprocessors, microprocessors, circuits, circuit elements (e.g.,transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so forth), integratedcircuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmablelogic devices (PLD), digital signal processors (DSP), field programmablegate array (FPGA), logic gates, registers, semiconductor devices, chips,microchips, chip sets, and so forth. However, the embodiments are notlimited in this context.

Any of the components provided herein can be deployed, managed,serviced, etc., by a service provider that offers to deploy or integratecomputing infrastructure with respect to a process forrecipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honking. Thus,embodiments herein disclose a process for supporting computerinfrastructure, comprising integrating, hosting, maintaining, anddeploying computer-readable code into a computing system (e.g., computersystem/server 12), wherein the code in combination with the computingsystem is capable of performing the functions described herein.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a method that performs theprocess steps of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/orfee basis. That is, a service provider, such as a Solution Integrator,can offer to create, maintain, support, etc., a process forrecipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honking. In this case,the service provider can create, maintain, support, etc., a computerinfrastructure that performs the process steps of the invention for oneor more customers. In return, the service provider can receive paymentfrom the customer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement, and/orthe service provider can receive payment from the sale of advertisingcontent to one or more third parties.

Also noted above, some embodiments may be embodied in software. Thesoftware may be referenced as a software element. In general, a softwareelement may refer to any software structures arranged to perform certainoperations. In one embodiment, for example, the software elements mayinclude program instructions and/or data adapted for execution by ahardware element, such as a processor. Program instructions may includean organized list of commands comprising words, values, or symbolsarranged in a predetermined syntax that, when executed, may cause aprocessor to perform a corresponding set of operations.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

It is apparent that there has been provided herein approaches torecipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honking. While theinvention has been particularly shown and described in conjunction withexemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated that variations andmodifications will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it isto be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and changes that fall within the true spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for recipient-actualized internalvehicle-to-vehicle horn activation, comprising: monitoring an action ofa first vehicle; obtaining a communication from a second vehicle;determining, in response to the obtainment of the communication, whetherthe action of the first vehicle violates a rule, the determinationcomprising generating a hypothesis proposing a reason for thecommunication from the second vehicle based on an association of themonitored action with the hypothesis; and actualizing, responsive to thecommunication, in the case that the hypothesis indicates that the actionof the first vehicle violates the rule, a honk indication inside thefirst vehicle perceptible to an occupant of the first vehicle.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, the method further comprising, in the case that theaction of the first vehicle does not violate a rule, rejecting thecommunication from the second vehicle by not actualizing the honkindication inside the first vehicle perceptible to the occupant of thefirst vehicle.
 3. The method of claim 2, the method further comprisingtransmitting a response to the second vehicle indicating if the honkindication was actualized inside the first vehicle.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, the method further comprising: obtaining a set of rules from arule depository, the set of rules being correct conduct of the firstvehicle responsive to a condition associated with the first vehicle;receiving sensor data from a set of sensors on the first vehicle, thesensor data comprising the action of the first vehicle and a conditionassociated with the first vehicle; and analyzing the sensor data for aviolation of a rule of the set of rules for the received action of thefirst vehicle and condition associated with the first vehicle.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein, in the case that the action of the firstvehicle violates a rule, the honk indication notifies the occupant ofthe first vehicle of the rule of the set of rules that has a violation.6. The method of claim 1, wherein the honk indication comprises at leastone indicator selected from the group consisting of: a visual alert on adisplay of the first vehicle, an auditory alert through a sound systemof the first vehicle, and a haptic alert through a surface in physicalcontact with the occupant of the first vehicle.
 7. The method of claim1, the communication from the second vehicle being in response to anauditory command in a natural language identifying the first vehicle byan occupant of the second vehicle.
 8. The method of claim 1, the methodfurther comprising: obtaining an alert announcement communication fromthe second vehicle, the alert announcement communication beingcommunicated to a set of vehicles in proximity to the second vehicle;identifying the alert announcement communication as an alertannouncement communication based on metadata associated with the alertannouncement communication; and actualizing, responsive to the alertannouncement communication, an alert announcement honk indication insidethe first vehicle perceptible to the occupant of the first vehicle.
 9. Acomputer system for recipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehiclehorn activation, the computer system comprising: a memory mediumcomprising program instructions; a bus coupled to the memory medium; anda processor, for executing the program instructions, coupled to arecipient-actualized internal vehicle-to-vehicle honk engine via the busthat when executing the program instructions causes the system to:monitor an action of a first vehicle; obtain a communication from asecond vehicle; determine, in response to the obtainment of thecommunication, whether the action of the first vehicle violates a rule,the determination comprising generating a hypothesis proposing a reasonfor the communication from the second vehicle based on an association ofthe monitored action with the hypothesis; and actualize, responsive tothe communication, in the case that the hypothesis indicates that theaction of the first vehicle violates the rule, a honk indication insidethe first vehicle perceptible to an occupant of the first vehicle. 10.The computer system of claim 9, the instructions further causing thesystem to: reject, in the case that the action of the first vehicle doesnot violate a rule, the communication from the second vehicle by notactualizing the honk indication inside the first vehicle perceptible tothe occupant of the first vehicle; and transmit a response to the secondvehicle indicating if the honk indication was actualized inside thefirst vehicle.
 11. The computer system of claim 9, the instructionsfurther causing the system to: obtain a set of rules from a ruledepository, the set of rules being correct conduct of the first vehicleresponsive to a condition associated with the first vehicle; receivesensor data from a set of sensors on the first vehicle, the sensor datacomprising the action of the first vehicle and a condition associatedwith the first vehicle; and analyze the sensor data for a violation of arule of the set of rules for the received action of the first vehicleand condition associated with the first vehicle, wherein, in the casethat the action of the first vehicle violates a rule, the honkindication notifies the occupant of the first vehicle of the rule of theset of rules that has a violation.
 12. The computer system of claim 9,wherein the honk indication comprises at least one indicator selectedfrom the group consisting of: a visual alert on a display of the firstvehicle, an auditory alert through a sound system of the first vehicle,and a haptic alert through a surface in physical contact with theoccupant of the first vehicle.
 13. The computer system of claim 9, thecommunication from the second vehicle being in response to an auditorycommand in a natural language identifying the first vehicle by anoccupant of the second vehicle.
 14. The computer system of claim 9, theinstructions further causing the system to: obtain an alert announcementcommunication from the second vehicle, the alert announcementcommunication being communicated to a set of vehicles in proximity tothe second vehicle; identify the alert announcement communication as analert announcement communication based on metadata associated with thealert announcement communication; and actualize, responsive to the alertannouncement communication, an alert announcement honk indication insidethe first vehicle perceptible to the occupant of the first vehicle. 15.A computer program product for recipient-actualized internalvehicle-to-vehicle horn activation, the computer program productcomprising a computer readable hardware storage device, and programinstructions stored on the computer readable hardware storage device,to: monitor an action of a first vehicle; obtain a communication from asecond vehicle; determine, in response to the obtainment of thecommunication, whether the action of the first vehicle violates a rule,the determination comprising generating a hypothesis proposing a reasonfor the communication from the second vehicle based on an association ofthe monitored action with the hypothesis; and actualize, responsive tothe communication, in the case that the hypothesis indicates that theaction of the first vehicle violates the rule, a honk indication insidethe first vehicle perceptible to an occupant of the first vehicle. 16.The computer program product of claim 15, the computer readable storagedevice further comprising instructions to: reject, in the case that theaction of the first vehicle does not violate a rule, the communicationfrom the second vehicle by not actualizing the honk indication insidethe first vehicle perceptible to the occupant of the first vehicle; andtransmit a response to the second vehicle indicating if the honkindication was actualized inside the first vehicle.
 17. The computerprogram product of claim 15, the computer readable storage devicefurther comprising instructions to: obtain a set of rules from a ruledepository, the set of rules being correct conduct of the first vehicleresponsive to a condition associated with the first vehicle; receivesensor data from a set of sensors on the first vehicle, the sensor datacomprising the action of the first vehicle and a condition associatedwith the first vehicle; and analyze the sensor data for a violation of arule of the set of rules for the received action of the first vehicleand condition associated with the first vehicle, wherein, in the casethat the action of the first vehicle violates a rule, the honkindication notifies the occupant of the first vehicle of the rule of theset of rules that has a violation.
 18. The computer program product ofclaim 15, wherein the honk indication comprises at least one indicatorselected from the group consisting of: a visual alert on a display ofthe first vehicle, an auditory alert through a sound system of the firstvehicle, and a haptic alert through a surface in physical contact withthe occupant of the first vehicle.
 19. The computer program product ofclaim 15, the communication from the second vehicle being in response toan auditory command in a natural language identifying the first vehicleby an occupant of the second vehicle.
 20. The computer program productof claim 15, the computer readable storage device further comprisinginstructions to: obtain an alert announcement communication from thesecond vehicle, the alert announcement communication being communicatedto a set of vehicles in proximity to the second vehicle; identify thealert announcement communication as an alert announcement communicationbased on metadata associated with the alert announcement communication;and actualize, responsive to the alert announcement communication, analert announcement honk indication inside the first vehicle perceptibleto the occupant of the first vehicle.